Trump, in State of the Union address, announces second Kim summit date

President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet at the end of February in Vietnam to further talks on denuclearization; Kevin Corke reports from the White House.

President Trump announced Tuesday night during his State of the Union address that he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet later this month in Vietnam.

"As part of a bold new diplomacy, we continue our historic push for peace on the Korean Peninsula," Trump said. "Our hostages have come home, nuclear testing has stopped, and there has not been a missile launch in more than 15 months."

"If I had not been elected president of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea," Trump went on to claim. "Much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong Un is a good one. Chairman Kim and I will meet again on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam."

The president did not share the specific city where the summit will be held, but sources told Fox News it would likely be in Da Nang.

Last month, the White House announced that a second summit between the two was imminent, following a meeting with top North Korean official Kim Jong Chol in the Oval Office.

The president has said multiple times that he was open to having a second summit with Kim in 2019, after the two leaders have exchanged multiple letters. During their first summit in Singapore last June, Trump and Kim signed a document stating that Pyongyang would work toward "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." North Korea's concession was historic, following several meetings between the two leaders. At the time, though, Trump did not refer to the document as a treaty or an agreement.

Following the White House’s announcement, Kim reportedly requested preparations for the meeting. The order from Kim came upon his receipt of a letter from Trump.

“Upon receiving the good personal letter sent by President Trump, the Supreme Leader expressed great satisfaction,” the KCNA said, according to Yonhap News. “He spoke highly of President Trump for expressing his unusual determination and will for the settlement of the issue with a great interest in the second DPRK-U.S. summit.”

The second meeting between the two leaders would follow their historic June summit in Singapore. During that encounter, Trump and Kim signed a document promising to work toward “complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.”

But Trump's National Intelligence Director Dan Coats, during testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, cast doubt on the goal of a nuclear-free North Korea, saying it was unlikely the regime would entirely dismantle its nuclear arsenal. Coats acknowledged that Kim has expressed support for a nuclear-free Korean peninsula and has not recently tested a nuclear-capable missile, but said the intelligence assessment indicates the rogue regime will continue to seek to retain its nuclear capabilities.

Coats said it was "unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capability because its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival."

"Our assessment is bolstered by our observations of some activity that is inconsistent with full denuclearization," Coats said last week.

His assessment ran against the Trump administration's view that North Korea, thanks to the first summit last year, no longer seeks to develop their nuclear arsenal or poses the threat of nuclear weapons to its neighbors and American allies.

Meanwhile, this week, North Korea was reportedly taking steps to safeguard its nuclear and ballistic capabilities from being destroyed before planning the second summit. The U.S. special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, is slated to meet with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Hyok Chol on Wednesday in Pyongyang to prepare for the summit.

At a second Trump-Kim summit, some experts say North Korea is likely to seek to trade the destruction of its main Yongbyon nuclear complex for a U.S. promise to formally declare the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, open a liaison office in Pyongyang and allow the North to resume some lucrative economic projects with South Korea.